Everything You Need to Know About YBN Cordae

YBN Cordae is next up. He's bridging hip-hop's generational divide and growing a loyal following. Here's everything you need to know about the rapper.

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Image via Getty/Bennett Raglin

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YBN Cordae just might be the voice of the future. The young rapper has only been in the game for a few years, but he already understands the value of his platform and he’s looking to make a difference through his music. 

Born Cordae Dunston in 1997 in North Carolina, his family relocated to Suitland, Maryland when he was growing up. At just 15 years old, Cordae decided to give his rap career a try, and he has cited OGs like Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and more as early influences.

He showed promise on early mixtapes like 2014’s Anxiety and 2016’s I’m So Anxious, which were full of thoughtful and creative songs that incorporating funny anecdotes into commentary on current events and pop culture. But it wasn’t until 2018 that Cordae achieved widespread attention with his remixes and freestyles over classic rap songs (we’ll get into that later).

Along with the release of his debut solo album, The Lost Boy, it’s time to run through the most important facts about YBN Cordae that you need to know.

He used to be known as Entendre

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Before he was YBN Cordae, Dunston performed under the stage name, Entendre. He released three mixtapes under that moniker—Anxiety (2014), I'm So Anxious (2016), and I'm So Anonymous (2017)—before he joined the YBN collective. Cordae rarely talks about those days or his previous rap name, but he told Complex in 2018 that Entendre was the “worst rap name in history.”

He studied mass communications at Towson University in Maryland

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His career was kickstarted by remixes of hip-hop classics

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Cordae first gained national attention for his creative remixes of OG classics. His remix of Eminem’s 1999 single, “My Name Is,” went viral in May 2018. While it wasn’t technically a remix of a classic, Cordae’s response to J. Cole’s “1985” also went viral that spring, launching him into the public’s consciousness. He has also freestyled over popular songs including Kendrick Lamar’s “Duckworth” and Method Man and Redman’s “Da Rockwilder.”

He always knew he was going to bridge the gap between the new and old generations in rap

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He used to work at TGI Fridays

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He describes his sound as ‘soulful’

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Dr. Dre is his mentor

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He changed elementary schools seven times

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He rose to fame as part of the YBN crew, which he refers to as a family

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He wants his music career to start change and help others

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He has an interesting take on the ghostwriting conversation

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YBN Cordae writes every bar he records, but he doesn’t necessarily have a problem with ghostwriters. “I would never have anyone write my shit,” he clarified on an episode of Everyday Struggle, taking pride in his penmanship. As for other artists who use outside help, Cordae suggests it’s their business and not as harmful to hip-hop as the public makes it seem. “I don’t pay attention to what other people got going on,” he continued. “They eating. If the music is dope, let them use writers
 For other people, it’s like, ‘Yo, if I can bounce off ideas to get other people on it, whatever.’”

He’s a big fan of Mac Miller

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He’s a Puma Youth Ambassador

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He was rumored to have dated tennis champ Naomi Osaka

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